The Bluegill Quest Continues

My bluegill quest has been lacking lately. I decided to see if I could add to the numbers Friday by fishing before a weather front coming in on Saturday. Your fish-catch ratio can improve fishing before a front. I couldn’t ask for a better morning with…

My bluegill quest has been lacking lately. I decided to see if I could add to the numbers Friday by fishing before a weather front coming in on Saturday. Your fish-catch ratio can improve fishing before a front. I couldn't ask for a better morning with cloudy skies and very low humidity to fish the popper and black gnat on Smith Lake. In fact I had clouds overhead until 10 AM after that the sun took over and the bite practically stop.

One of my favorite banks in Ryan Creek to fish, I've landed numerous bluegills and spots from this area.

This bluegill was taken using the Barr Nunn popper letting it sit motionless for what seemed like forever for a hit----but the patience paid off. This was the way the bluegill wanted the fly the first hour of the morning; a complete contrast from the spawn where the fish will kill the fly as soon as it touches the water.

The bass wasn't as active as the bluegills, which was alright with me, because the mission today was to improve on my numbers. This spot give the 4 weight quite a workout making me think he was much larger.

Worthy of the count

The prize of the morning was this monster bull gill taken using the black gnat fishing with the sink-tip line. The last spawn ended the first week in August on Smith Lake and this bluegill showed the signs of that spawn. He was not in good shape as far as body weight. He would have weight in at a pound before the spawn but today he tipped the scales at 12 ounces. Both big bulls deserved their freedom after an epic fight against the 5 weight, both will count towards the quest, I'm 13 away from reaching my goal------GOT TO LOVE LANDING THESE BIG BLUEGILLS USING THE FLY ROD!!!